Is Oregon’s transportation spending plan bad for the climate?

Oregon should spend more on transit, bike and pedestrian infrastructure and less on widening freeways, the architects of a proposed $8 billion transportation funding bill heard at a public hearing Tuesday night.

“At the exact time we should be working to ease congestion by making it easier and safer for people to walk and bike, we are doubling down on dirty fossil fuels at the expense of our communities and the planet,” Angel Falconer, Milwaukie city councilor, told the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation Preservation and Modernization in submitted testimony.

“We would really love major investments in public transit,” Paige Spence, of the Oregon League of Conservation Voters and Oregon Conservation Network said. “Having more cars on the road is more releasing of greenhouse gases and air pollution.”

Lawmakers have been working for a year on the transportation infrastructure spending bill, which was unveiled last week.

It would impose higher gas taxes, increased vehicle title and registration fees, tolls on parts of Interstate 5, a tax on new bicycles and new and used cars, and a payroll tax to fund public transit.

Part of the money would help fund five major freeway widening projects in the Portland area. Other, smaller projects also would be considered, including a proposal to build a third bridge across the Willamette River in Salem.

Many testifying said they support transportation improvements, but object to particular funding mechanisms.

Mark Gram, president of the Oregon Fuels Association, said a proposal to allow higher local gas taxes would create a competitive disadvantage for gas stations, especially those on metro boundaries.

Chris DiStefano, of Portland’s River City Bicycles, objected to the proposed 3 percent excise tax on sales of bicycles costing more than $500, calling it a tax on small businesses.

Others came to ask for more funding for particular projects:

Four legislators representing parts of East Portland asked the committee to allocate $111 million for safety improvements to Powell Boulevard (Highway 26) from 99th to 174th Ave. The stretch is unsafe for people who have to walk, bicycle or wait for a bus, Rep. Diego Hernandez, D-Portland, said.

Hanna Grene, of the Center for Sustainable Energy, and Jeanette Shaw, of Forth, asked the committee to include electric vehicle rebates in the bill. “By accelerating the purchase of electric vehicles, the state has the ability to meet its greenhouse gas reduction goals,” Shaw said.

Kevin Frazier, of Children First for Oregon, was among a number of people asking for more money for the Safe Routes to School program, which pays for street safety improvements near schools and education programs that encourage students to walk or bike to school. “Safe Routes to School meets a critical need for our kids,” he said.

The public hearing will continue Wednesday beginning at 5 p.m. in Hearing Room F at the Capitol. The committee also may consider amendments to the bill.

tloew@statesmanjournal.com, 503-399-6779 or follow at Twitter.com/Tracy_Loew